


New Start

by captainamergirl



Category: General Hospital
Genre: F/M, What Could Have Been
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-07-09 14:10:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19889125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainamergirl/pseuds/captainamergirl
Summary: She couldn't be more different than her sister...





	1. Awkward / Break

**A – Awkward**  
  
_“Emily?”_ He said in a voice hoarse with unconcealed awe.  
  
“No, uh –"  
  
_“Emily!”_ He practically cried and yanked her into his arms, right up against his strong chest. He gave her a tight hug and kiss on the cheek. “How is this possible? How can you be alive? We all saw you … My meds. Did I take my meds this morning?”  
  
Rebecca squirreled away from him. This was incredibly awkward. He looked so relieved, so happy to see her and then scared apparently that he was losing it. “Look, Mister, I am sorry. I’m not your Emily. I have heard about her but she’s … she’s not me.”  
  
He stepped back and looked her over. He took in the sight of her hand on her hip, the set of her jaw, the storm in her eyes, the way she was grimacing at him and he must have realized it was true. “You’re not Emily.”  
  
Rebecca shook her head. “No. I’m not.” She watched his eyes sheen with a little moisture and his lips turn downward. In that moment, she wished she could have been Emily for him. He had obviously loved her doppelganger. Rebecca had never been loved by _anyone._ For a moment, she wished she could have that kind of feeling directed at her.  
  
She offered him a weak smile and turned and walked away, profoundly affected by what had just happened but not knowing why.

* * *

**B – Break**  
  
A week had passed in which Rebecca tried to get more acclimated to life in Port Charles. Everywhere she went though, people stared at her questioningly and hopefully. She was getting pretty sick of it. If they expected her to be that sweetheart Emily she had heard so much about, they certainly were all going to be disappointed and that’s what Rebecca did best – disappoint people.  
  
She took a job at Kelly’s Diner even knowing she only got the waitress position because the owner, Mike Corbin, thought of her as the reincarnated Emily Quartermaine or something like it. Mike had mentioned his family was close to Emily but she had asked no questions, not wanting to know any of the details. In the past, she would have somehow used this information for her own gain but she wanted to believe she had changed. She had no choice but to believe that.  
  
She was waiting tables one afternoon when the door opened and _He_ walked inside. The guy from the docks who had hugged her and kissed her cheek - the guy with the incredible dimples. He took a seat purposefully nearby her – at least she assumed it was purposeful – and she topped off a customer’s water glass before moving over to the man and handing him a menu. His fingers lightly brushed hers, and she felt something electric zip up her palm and settle somewhere in her brain. For a long moment, she couldn’t even speak.  
  
“Are you okay?” he asked.  
  
Rebecca finally found her voice. “Yeah, why the hell shouldn’t I be?”  
  
The man arched an eyebrow. “Is that anyway to talk to a paying customer?” He asked. “Or your boss’s son?”  
  
“You and Mike are –“  
  
“Yeah,” he said.  
  
“Wow. I had no idea.” She bit her lip. “Can we try again? I really don’t want to get fired.”  
  
“You’re not going to get fired,” he said. “But yes, let’s start over. You can begin by telling me your name.”  
  
“It’s Rebecca,” she said. “Never Becky.”  
  
“Okay, my name is Sonny,” he said. “Never Michael.” He flashed his trillion dollar dimples at her and she felt oddly weak in the knees but was determined not to show it.  
  
“Anyway, what can I get you?” she asked.  
  
“Just a cup of coffee. No cream, no sugar. Just straight up.”  
  
Rebecca nodded. “That’s how I take mine too,” she admitted, because it was true.  
  
She started to turn around and walk away but he called after her. “Rebecca.”  
  
She paused in her tracks. “Yes… Sonny?”  
  
“Make that two cups of black coffee.”  
  
“Are you saying … Wait, you want me to join you?”  
  
“Yeah. I think we need to talk about… our first run-in.”  
  
She shook her head. “We don’t have to talk about that.”  
  
“Yeah, we do,” Sonny said. “Besides you have to take a break sometime, right?”  
  
“Uh …”  
  
“Come on. Humor me. It’s a cup of coffee. Not a lifetime commitment.”  
  
Rebecca knew she wasn’t going to win this battle so she simply nodded. “Two cups of black coffee, coming right up.”


	2. Chat / Dare

**C - Chat**  
  
“So you want to have a little chat over coffee, huh?” Rebecca said as she deposited their drinks on the table.  
  
Sonny didn’t reply at first. He just took a sip of the murky sludge from his mug. He immediately made a face. “I forgot how bad Mike’s brewing skills are.”  
  
Rebecca settled a hand on her right hip. “I will have you know I made it,” she said. “And it’s not –“ she took a sip and quickly spit it out, into her napkin – “it’s not palatable. Like at all. Let me go try again.”  
  
She started to climb to her feet but Sonny reached out and grasped her hand, pulling her back down into her chair. She felt her face heat at the touch of his fingers. Who the hell was this man and why did he have such an effect on her? She hated it even as she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame.  
  
Still, she would never admit it.  
  
“I don’t need a refill,” Sonny said. “To be honest, any coffee tastes awful to me, but the kind we brew at Corinthos-Morgan.”  
  
“Oh so you’re a barista… You sure don’t dress like one.”  
  
Sonny dimpled and she couldn’t help but think he had the best smile. Another thing she would never admit aloud. “No, I’m the owner. Part-owner, I guess, since my friend Jason has his name on the sign on the door too.”  
  
“Jason Morgan?”  
  
“Yeah, you know him?”  
  
“Not really. I just happened to meet him once during that toxic ball nightmare when I first got to town a few weeks ago. He seems decent, I guess. Pretty crazy about that brunette he was with – Sam, I think was her name.”  
  
“Oh yeah. They have a long history …” Sonny sighed. “But look, I’d rather not talk about those two. I’d rather talk about –“  
  
“Our first run-in, as I believe you put it.”  
  
“Right … You know I don’t say these words very often at all but I’m… I’m sorry.”  
  
“For what? Wishing I was your dead girlfriend? I mean she was your girlfriend right?”  
  
“At one time - a long time ago, it seems. But yes. She meant a lot to me and when I saw you … Anyway, I practically accosted you and that wasn’t good.”  
  
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s alright. I am not going to hold it against you … At least not if you give me a big tip.”  
  
Sonny smirked. “For this coffee?” He asked. “No way.”  
  
“Hey!”  
  
“But the service wasn’t too bad, I guess,” he said. He looked deep into her eyes and she felt an involuntary shiver of pleasure slide down her spine. She looked away.  
  
“I’d better get back to work. Your dad is a bit of a slave-driver.”  
  
“I won’t tell him you said that,” Sonny said.  
  
“Can I get you anything else?” She looked at him this time as she stood. His eyes had taken on a stormy expression and she thought he wanted to ask for a helping of _her._  
  
She almost wished he would.  
  
But he simply shook his head. “Nah, I’m good,” he said. He climbed to his feet then and dropped some crumpled bills on the table.  
  
“See you around,” he said and then was gone.  
  
Rebecca reached for the money instinctively and started counting it. She couldn’t believe it but there was a hundred dollar bill in the mix of petty cash. The old Rebecca – the one she liked to forget existed – would have pocketed that straight away and pretended she had never seen it, but she was trying to change. She had to change.  
  
She ran outside and looked both ways, planning to ask if Sonny had actually meant to leave her that extravagant of a tip, but he seemed to have evaporated into thin air or something. He was gone. And she was left feeling oddly disappointed.

* * *

**D – Dare**  
  
Rebecca spent the next few days working her ass off to avoid thinking of Sonny. She had yet to even spend the hundred dollar bill he had given her; knowing she should ask him if he had really intended to give that much money to her, when she saw him again. _If_ she ever saw him again…  
  
She could admit - if only to herself - that she was intrigued by him, very intrigued. And attracted. It wouldn’t go any further – she wouldn’t let it – but she would actually like to see him again.  
  
She had just finished wiping down the tables when she looked at her watch. 4:15 p.m. Break time. She usually didn’t want to take one because it gave her too much time to think and wonder, but Mike always insisted, especially when she picked up an extra shift as she had today.  
  
She threw down the towel on the counter, told Mike she would take fifteen. He nodded and she slipped out the back door. She ended up walking the short distance to a bench in the courtyard. She had just settled down onto it when she felt someone slide in beside her. She looked over and couldn’t believe who she was seeing.  
  
“How dare you come here?” She spat, once she found her voice of course.  
  
“Rebecca, you’re not happy to see me?” Ethan Lovett asked with a little toothy smile.  
  
“You should know the answer to that question. What are you doing in Port Charles? Did you follow me?”  
  
Ethan shrugged. “I have a few reasons for being here.”  
  
Rebecca rolled her eyes as her shoulders tensed. “I am so sure.”  
  
“Rebecca, okay, let’s be real. I heard about your resemblance to that Emily Quartermaine person and –“  
  
“And you thought that we could try to bilk her loved ones out of a bunch of money.”  
  
Ethan shrugged and Rebecca knew his answer. “It's not going to happen, Ethan! I told you when I left New York City that I was done with that way of life. It cost me too much and besides, after what you pulled, I will never, ever help you again. Hell, I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire.”  
  
“Ouch.”  
  
“It's only fair considering what you did,” Rebecca said. “Now leave. Get the hell out of my face and never come near me again.”  
  
“Becca –“  
  
“Don’t call me that, you asshole!” Rebecca said. “Leave me alone.”  
  
She climbed off the bench and started to walk away when he was suddenly grabbing her by the wrist. “Rebecca, come on. Hear me out here.”  
  
“I believe the lady told you to leave her alone,” a now-familiar voice thundered somewhere off to the left.  
  
Rebecca sighed in relief as none other than Sonny walked over to them. He looked at Ethan still holding her wrist and barked at him, “Drop your hand or I’ll break it.”  
  
Ethan sighed and dropped his grasp on Rebecca. “I’d never hurt you, Rebecca, and you know it,” he said and then was quickly trotting away.  
  
“Are you alright?” Sonny asked her, coming to a stop about five, respectful feet away from her.  
  
Rebecca was a bit shaken but nodded. “Yeah, I’m alright. Thanks for that though.”  
  
“Do you want me to go after him – teach him a lesson about manhandling innocent women?”  
  
Rebecca laughed bitterly. “I’m not innocent – not by far.”  
  
“Even if you’re not, no man should ever touch with a woman that way.”  
  
“I’m fine,” Rebecca said. She then opened the pocket of her waitress’s apron and extracted the hundred dollar bill she was still carrying around. She held out to him with two fingers. “I believe you accidentally gave me this.”  
  
“It was no accident.”  
  
“A hundred dollars is a lot for a shitty cup of coffee.”  
  
“The company was worth more than a hundred dollars to me,” Sonny said and smiled at her slyly.  
  
Rebecca shook her head. “If you’re trying to get into my pants, I’m not that cheap.”  
  
Sonny smirked now. “I would never assume that. But I know a waitress job can’t be very fulfilling so I’m helping you out.”  
  
“I don’t want charity.”  
  
“It's not about charity,” Sonny said.  
  
“Then what’s it about?”  
  
“You read too much into things,” Sonny said. “It’s a gift. Keep it. I know Mike is a very fair boss but that he can’t afford to pay you a lot. So buy yourself something nice with it and stop looking a gift horse in the mouth.”  
  
Rebecca nodded as she pocketed the money again. “Fine, who am I to argue?” She looked into his eyes and was lost for a moment in their chocolatey depths. She then turned away. “Anyway, my shift is over. Gotta run.”  
  
She offered him a quick smile and then ran back inside. She ran because she was going to be late, but mostly because she thought maybe she had feelings for this Sonny guy. This guy she truly didn’t know a damn thing about.


	3. Entice, Fantasy

**E - Entice**  
  
Rebecca came down from her room above Kelly’s one morning, ready to start off the day with a fresh cup of coffee and a plate of pancakes. Mike always insisted on cooking for her. _“I don’t want my best waitress to starve,”_ he’d often say.  
  
It was early yet and the diner wouldn’t be open for another hour but Mike always fired up the grill sometime before the customers stared pouring in. But Rebecca noticed he wasn’t in the dining area. Everything was quiet.  
  
“Mike?” She called and walked into the kitchen. She looked all over but he wasn’t there either. She knew something was up but what, she wasn’t sure.  
  
She walked back into the main part of the diner, trying to decide what to do next when there was suddenly a knock on the door. She jumped involuntarily and her heart hammered in her chest. She swung around and seeing who was staring in the window at her, her heart really began to pound in earnest. It was almost painfully thudding against her rib cage.  
  
Sonny was standing there and gesturing for her to open the door. She immediately hurried to unlock it. She pulled back the door. “Your dad isn’t here,” she immediately said as she stepped aside to let him in.  
  
“I know,” Sonny said. “He won’t be coming back here either.”  
  
“Is he –“ Her voice trailed off. Why did she always have to assume the worst?  
  
“No, he’s not dead. Fortunately.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“I mean Mike has a big problem with gambling and it got him into a lot of trouble last night. He landed in the ER after being beaten badly sometime in the wee hours.”  
  
“Ohmigod, I had no idea.”  
  
Sonny shook his head and sighed. “He’s agreed to go to a rehab facility in Maine to try to kick the habit and he won’t be back, not for a while anyway. I thought you should know.”  
  
“What’s going to happen to this place?” She was afraid that she was out of a job now.  
  
“You want it?”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“Do you want it?” Sonny repeated. “You could start out as a manager and then eventually buy it from me later if you’re interested.”  
  
Rebecca’s mouth unhinged a bit in shock. “Are you serious?”  
  
“Yeah. I don’t want the place to fold. It has too much history in this town. I also don’t want to see you out of work.”  
  
“I am not your charity case, Sonny.”  
  
“How is it charity if you’re going to be doing all the work?”  
  
“Well…”  
  
“Take the position, Rebecca.”  
  
“I don’t know anything about managing a business.”  
  
“I didn’t really either when I started out,” Sonny said. “But someone took a chance on me once and I like to think it made a difference.”  
  
“So you’re paying it forward…”  
  
“If that’s what you want to call it.”  
  
She nodded. “Thank you, Sonny, I’ll take the manager job. This means everything to me.” She started to stick out her hand for him to shake but then thought better of it. Instead, she gave him a firm hug. It only lasted three seconds but the feel of his steady, warm hand on her back, was a heady sensation for her.  
  
“So I guess there’s only one thing left to do,” Sonny said.  
  
“What’s that?”  
  
“Celebrate your moving on up in the world. I’ll cook us some breakfast since I am guessing you haven’t eaten yet.”  
  
“You cook?” Rebecca asked with an eyebrow arched in disbelief.  
  
“Hell yes. Pasta is my specialty but would you settle for some French toast and eggs over easy?”  
  
Rebecca nodded. “Hell yes.” She grinned. “You’ve enticed me. It sounds wonderful. Should I make us some coffee?” She asked, remembering the last time she had fixed them coffee.  
  
Sonny shook his head. “No.”  
  
“You don’t trust me not to poison you?” She laughed.  
  
Sonny just smiled at her, gorgeous dimples appearing in his cheeks. “Let me make the coffee too,” he said. “We’ll eat in about twenty. For now, make yourself comfortable.”  
  
Rebecca nodded, although it was impossible to get comfortable around Sonny when all she wanted to do was to jump him.

* * *

** F - Fantasy **

One afternoon there was a lull in customers and Rebecca had just sent her best waitress Lorna off to lunch when the door suddenly opened and she saw a familiar figure standing in the doorway, sunlight seeming to radiate off his slicked back, black hair.  
  
She watched in awe as he approached her. His movements were slow and methodical, and a bit predatory even. Her spine tingled as he finally closed the distance between them. He leaned over and grazed her earlobe with his mouth. His breath was warm on her face and scented with mint gum. “Rebecca,” he murmured into her ear. “You drive me fucking wild. I need you in my life; I need you with me in every way… Tonight I’m taking you out. I’m making you mine forever.”  
  
Rebecca shivered under the intensity of his gaze and at the promise in his voice. She leaned into him. “Sonny,” she murmured. “Of course I’ll –“  
  
_“Excuse me!”_ A loud voice suddenly cut through her fantasy. And she knew it was a fantasy because when she opened her eyes, she was hugging herself and a husky, whiskery woman was staring at her. There was no sunshine; rather, it was raining outside. And there was no Sonny; she had just conjured him up in her fanciful mind.  
  
“Uh … sorry,” Rebecca said. “What can I do for you, M'am?”  
  
The woman shook her head. “I would like a table.” She said it as if Rebecca should know that and yes, she should.  
  
What was she doing daydreaming about Sonny in the middle of the work day anyway? Why was she fantasizing about him at all? Yes he was damned attractive and dangerous, the kind of man she’d always been drawn too (times a hundred), but he was also off-limits as far as she was concerned. She didn’t need the complications dating a mobster would bring to her life. Besides, he had made no moves on her.  
  
_And that was actually driving her fucking bananas!_


End file.
